To support its counterterrorism activities, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Thursday gave flight to twelve recently trained combat pilots.
At the 403 Flying Training School (FTS), Kano, pilots of Basic Flying Course-20 participated in a winging ceremony.
According to a statement from Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), commended the combat pilots and gave them an assignment to demonstrate the value of the time and money spent on their training.
In order to maintain “the successes recorded in the various theatres of operation” around the nation, Abubakar had instructed the officers to give it their all.
In his view, the Air Force has persisted in carrying out missions with the dual goals of transforming the operational landscape in the various theaters and annihilating criminals and depriving them of their freedom of movement.
He said that “the injection of new and vibrant pilots to add energy and bite to the operations” will maintain the success.
He went on to say that the winging ceremony was noteworthy because it took place at a time when the Federal Government was committed to provide the tools needed to combat terrorism, insurgency, and other criminal activity.
As to his statement, the completion of Basic Flying Course 20 closes the pilot shortage in the Force.
Air Vice Marshal Nnamdi Ananaba, the Air Officer Commanding Air Training Command, had earlier revealed that the graduation event marked the end of a sequence of training exercises meant to produce fully competent pilots for the NAF.
He stated that the goal of the flying school is to develop pilots who possess a great deal of expertise in order to handle the new, highly sophisticated platforms that the Nigerian Air Force is introducing.
